Product Information

Publisher's Description

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Continuing a Gold Medallion Award-winning legacy, this completely revised edition of The Expositors Bible Commentary series puts world-class biblical scholarship in your hands. Based on the original twelve-volume set that has become a staple in college and seminary libraries and pastors studies worldwide, this new thirteen-volume edition marshals the most current evangelical scholarship and resources.The thoroughly revised features consist of: Comprehensive introductions Short and precise bibliographies Detailed outlines Insightful expositions of passages and verses Overviews of sections of Scripture to illuminate the big picture Occasional reflections to give more detail on important issues Notes on textual questions and special problems, placed close to the texts in question Transliterations and translations of Hebrew and Greek words, enabling readers to understand even the more technical notes A balanced and respectful approach toward marked differences of opinion

Author Bio

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Tremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University) is the Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies and the chair of the Religious Studies department at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, where he lives with his wife, Alice. He is the Old Testament editor for the revised Expositor's Bible Commentary and general editor for the Story of God Bible Commentary Old Testament and has authored many articles and books on the Psalms and other Old Testament books.

David E. Garland (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is William B. Hinson Professor of Christian Scriptures and dean for academic affairs at George W. Truett Seminary, Baylor University. He is the New Testament editor for the revised Expositor's Bible Commentary and the author of various books and commentaries, including Mark and Colossians/Philemon in the NIV Application Commentary, and the article on Mark in the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. He and his wife, Diana, reside in Waco, Texas.

Mark me down as someone who has loved and used the earlier EBC set for years. This new set, edited by Tremper Longman and David Garland, has been one Ive wanted to check out and this volume 8 is my first foray into the set. One thing is clear: the revision is a success. Not only is much brought up to date and improved, but the way the original series was envisioned remained. In other words, real depth with a corresponding succinctness for busy pastors.

In Daniel, Andrew Hill replaced the late Gleason Archer. Theres a much more scholarly feel and less direct eschatology. Gone is Archers clear premillennial position that is replaced by Hills survey of opinions. Still, Hill provides what Id call an astute presentation that can run with the big dogs of exegetical commentaries. A similar thing happened in Carroll R.s replacement of Leon Wood for Hosea.

Richard Patterson took his fine work on Joel and made it better. In Amos and Micah editor Tremper Longman took the late Thomas McComiskeys work and updated to the extent that he is now listed as the co-author. The effort is a good one. Carl Amerding updated his work on Obadiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk to good effect. John Walton turned in a more scholarly effort on Jonah than did H. L. Ellison, though I wish he could see his way clear to see it as journalistic history. He still came to pretty conservative positions.

In Zephaniah, Larry Walker updated his earlier work and I really loved it. Haggai and Malachi were greatly improved by Eugene Merrill, a scholar I always enjoy. Kenneth Barker updated his work on Zechariah and kept a dispensational outlook. It was yet another success for the project.

This book has a lot going for it. A quality help on Daniel and all the Minor Prophets between two covers means that for an economical price you can build your library more quickly. This is a winner all the way!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255.

The Expositor's Bible Commentary Revised Edition (EBC-R) seeks to provide "a comprehensive yet succinct commentary that guides one to the gist of the test's meaning." This is where this commentary series excels. The EBC-R will provide its reader with a good overview of the text and its meaning. There are thirteen books of the Bible covered in this volume (8 of 13) by nine different authors. The translation used is the NIV, which is pretty standard for most commentaries.

Each book contains an introduction written by the author containing general background information regarding the book. The bibliography is included in this section which is helpful as it provides the reader with additional commentaries to read as well as knowing where some of the author's research and thoughts come from. The outlines are always a blessing to me, as they show how the author sees the book flow. The layout of the commentary makes it very easy to read. Each section of Scripture is written in bold with a grey background and is single column, making it easy to find a particular verse quickly. The commentary section follows and is double columned, with bold verse numbers at the start of each commentary section for a particular verse. There are also a Notes section and a Reflections section that contains some extra thoughts. The layout is different from other commentaries that I have read, but once I got used to it I appreciated how easy it was to navigate.

As for the commentary itself, the EBC-R is very readable for pastors and laymen. There is not the critical depth of some commentaries that would confuse many lay people, but it is also not so shallow that the reader will not grow in their understanding. This commentary provides a great introduction to deeper Bible study and is not intimidating. As I read through this commentary I was pleasantly surprised by Andrew Hill's (professor of OT Studies at Wheaton College) work in Daniel 9. This chapter, specifically the seventy sevens, is one of the most difficult text in the Bible. Godly people from all sorts of backgrounds throughout church history have disagreed over the meaning of this text. Since how we interpret this text reveals a lot about our Eschatology I was eager to read his thoughts. His conclusion in the Reflections section is worth quoting. He says, "The natural and logical response by the people of faith to the God who orchestrates the redemption of fallen creation and humanity through the historical process is worship. Biblical commentators, however, seem more concerned with solving the puzzle of Daniel's "seventy sevens" than calling the people of faith to worship the God who revealed this remarkable message through Gabriel. After he has spent time briefly discussing the differing view of the "seventy sevens," he ends with a wonderful conclusion. Whatever our interpretation may be, our hearts should always be led to worship when we dig into these difficult passages. We should walk away, not puffed up with pride thinking our interpretation is correct, but with awe and wonder of the God who has inspired every word.

Overall this revision is timely and valuable. I previously owned the original Expositors Bible Commentary and am excited to begin to collect the Revised Edition.

I received a free copy of this book from Zondervan in exchange for an honest review.